Union assails charter school owner

BLADE STAFF

COLUMBUS - A state teachers' union released a lengthy report yesterday accusing the largest operator of charter schools in Ohio of violating state law and operating simply to make a profit.

The Ohio Federation of Teachers, in an 82-page report, said White Hat Management - which has 33 schools serving approximately 16,000 students in Ohio, including the Life Skills Center in Toledo - operates schools that are neither independent nor nonprofit entities.

Tom Mooney, president of the union, said Ohio law requires charter schools to be nonprofit entities governed by independent school boards.

A spokesman for Akron-based White Hat did not return telephone calls from The Blade yesterday.

The report, which was released at a news conference in Columbus, said the schools are a "cash cow" for White Hat, and that owner David Brennan used some school buildings as collateral to secure a $5 million loan. The purpose of the loan was not disclosed in the report.

The report also said the same nine people constitute the boards of eight White Hat-operated schools; numerous trustees serve on multiple boards, and some trustees are on as many as 17 White Hat charter school boards.

Most White Hat schools are sponsored by the Toledo-based Ohio Council for Community Schools, originally an arm of the University of Toledo. UT was granted chartering authority in the original 1997 legislation that created a pilot charter school program in Lucas County.

The council's executive director is Allison Perz, whose mother, Sally Perz, sponsored the original charter school legislation as a state representative. The elder Ms. Perz works for the council of community schools as a regional representative and also is a registered lobbyist for White Hat.

In a previous interview with The Blade, the elder Ms. Perz said she does not believe she has a conflict of interest, as Mr. Mooney suggested yesterday.

Sally Perz could not be reached for comment last night.

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